Worldwide


Rap Video Explores Origins of Money and Its Future (Sept. 2, 2014)

It’s not emerging payments’ first rap video (that distinction probably goes to Mack Maine’s “All in One Swipe” for the Young Money card), but it’s probably the funniest and, let’s say, most irreverent. (Yes, it includes rap language, so be forewarned if you choose to view it.)

Alliance Sends 20% of Monitise Workforce to IBM (Sept. 2, 2014)

U.K.-based Monitise and technology and consulting giant IBM have announced an alliance they say will improve IBM’s ability to deliver existing and future Monitise-based Mobile Money solutions to clients. The deal also will significantly increase Monitise’s ability to handle larger custom projects worldwide by combining the companies’ mobile banking, payments and e-commerce technology.

Real-time payments – realities versus myths

With the US consultation on introducing real-time payments announced earlier this year, debate on the subject ramped up considerably – but much of the debate is based on myths and misunderstandings, which means people are in danger of coming to the wrong conclusion, according to a report from Celent’s Gareth Lodge.

Swift’s Chris Church: making plans for Sibos

As delegates finalise their plans to attend Sibos in Boston this month, Chris Church, chief executive Americas and global head of securities at Swift, discusses what they can expect

Data veteran Dalglish takes transformation role at SmartStream

Industry veteran Tom Dalglish has joined SmartStream Technologies as head of transformation services, managing post-trade processing and data management projects for global clients. Initially he will be responsible for managing the back-office transformation programme at an unnamed European bank.

Ingo Money: 85% of OK’d RDC Checks Available in Minutes (Aug. 28, 2014)

More than 85 percent of approved checks sent over the Ingo Money platform, accounting for more than 90 percent of the platform’s total check value, now are funded to customer accounts and available to spend within minutes, according to Ingo Inc., the Georgia-based electronic funding specialist that operates Ingo Money.

Aussie Group to Beef Up Country’s Payments System (Aug. 28, 2014)

Australian banks, retailers and other payments stakeholders have formed the Australian Payments Council to ensure the country’s payments system meets the needs of consumers and businesses by fostering development of innovative, secure and competitive payment services, according to an announcement.

Moral hazard: the ghost of bail-outs past

The bailout of Espirito Santo Bank brings back unwelcome memories of the events of the last financial crisis and raises the spectre of moral hazard returning to the financial services industry both in the UK and abroad. But how far have we really come since those dark days of 2008 and the collapse of Lehman Brothers and how far do we still have to go? A quick look at recent events gives us a good indication.

NACS Merchants Challenge Fixed Cost Component, Relent on Network Routing (Aug. 25, 2014)

The merchant groups embroiled in a long-running legal battle over debit interchange fees have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case on the grounds that the Federal Reserve improperly took into account certain costs incurred by card issuers when calculating debit interchange fee limits. However, the retailers have not challenged a separate rule governing the number of unaffiliated debit card networks that must be available for debit and prepaid card transactions, which is good news for card issuers because it gives much longed-for certainty around a challenging issue.

Should banks consider domestic payments schemes?

Domestic card schemes have traditionally partnered with MasterCard and/or Visa in an arrangement that leaves the domestic player handling the local transactions and their international partner facilitating and controlling the international business. Should banks work with both or just partner with one of the international schemes?

Viewpoint: The Case for Gift Card Exchange

Gift card exchanges play a key role in connecting motivated shoppers with retailers and driving incremental sales, according to survey data from Blackhawk Network. Consumers say they’d like to see more retail locations add gift card exchanges.

Blog: Emerging Trends in Prepaid Card Fraud

Fraudsters are ingenious at finding cracks in the bulwark against prepaid card fraud, but industry cooperation can blunt their effect with strategic practices that are surprisingly easy to implement.

Trading automation, regulations, and systemic risk

The financial services industry has always pursued technical supremacy. But after years of financial crisis and attempted reforms to improve the transparency and understanding of risk exposure in financial services, we seem as much in the dark as ever …

People on the Move: Marcell L. King, Payveris

Payveris, an online and mobile payments company, has announced plans to create a merchant solutions division, which will be led by payments industry veteran Marcell L. King as president, merchant solutions.

QR Code Patent Latest Clue on Apple’s Mobile Wallet Plans

Details of Apple Inc.’s mobile wallet plans continue to trickle out, with the latest clue found in a patent filing that illustrates a QR code. Published late last month, the application describes a parental control system that would enable parents to control payment authorization on their children’s mobile devices.